Archive for June, 2011

Today we have the chance to celebrate the dads that brought us up through our lives, in the hard times and also the good times, that has made us who we are as men and women. No one’s perfect, and some fathers will say they wished they would have done things differently, but they were there ‘in the flesh and heart’ for most of their kids. I can’t speak for all fathers, but my dad was there willing to help out whenever it was needed. He worked his butt off and continues to do so, to give us the ability to do and try the things that we wanted to accomplish. Some kids were not so lucky. Their dads either died when they were young, were there only ‘in the flesh’ and didn’t really care about what was going on in their kids lives, or they left their mothers before the kids were born or a little after the marriage.

Celebrating Fatherhood: An important Missing Link

Pt. 1 – Fathers are necessary to the healthy development of children

Anthony has been raised by a loving mother and other family members for the past 11 years, but there is a huge hole in his heart… his missing father.

Research shows that a loving and nurturing father improves outcomes for children, families and communities, and fathers who live with their children are most likely to have a close, enduring relationship with their children. Children with involved, loving fathers are significantly more likely to do well in school, have healthy self-esteem, exhibit empathy and pro-social behavior, and avoid high-risk behaviors including drug use, truancy, and criminal activity. The growing absence of fathers in children’s lives has emerged as one of our nation’s greatest social problems, resulting in lost opportunities for children and a financial burden to society.

American children are in crisis and families are in need of assistance due to father absence. Statistics consistently point out that children who grow up without their fathers are more likely to be poor, to use drugs, to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems, to be victims of child abuse, and to engage in criminal behavior than their peers who live with their married, biological (0r adoptive) parents.

{ Research: About 75 percent of children raised in father-absent homes will experience poverty before they reach age 11, compared to only 20 percent of kids in two parent families.}

The truth is this: Children need committed fathers as much as they need their mothers. While it’s impossible to piece together a complete picture through statistics alone, the following indicate some correlation between absentee fathers and a variety of social problems:

In a 1997 report to Congress, the U.S. Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) provides national demographic data on children enrolled in CMHS funded services. They found that “on the whole, children living in single-parent families are more likely to experience poverty than children living in two-parent homes.” Further, “of those children living in poverty, 73 percent were living in families maintained by mothers, as compared to 22 percent of those children living with both parents, and 5 percent living with their families.”

In a 2004 study by the National Council on Family Relations, researchers noted that “most children (56%) live in two-biological-parent married families,” but that “the share of children residing with two biological married parents has been steadily declining.” This decline was found to negatively affect child well-being in several ways, including that “adolescents living outside two-biological-parent married families tend to exhibit more behavioral and emotional problems” and are “significantly less engaged in school.”

A study published in the February 2007 issue of the Journal of Population Economics notes: “There is longstanding evidence that youth raised by single parents are more likely to perform poorly in school and partake in ‘deviant’ behaviors such as smoking, sex, substance use, and crime. However, there is not widespread agreement as to whether the timing of the marital disruption differentially impacts youth outcomes.” After undertaking their research, the authors concluded that an additional five years spent with the biological father significantly lowers a youth’s likelihood of engaging in the named behaviors and that in general, “the longer the father remains in the household, the ‘better off’ the youth is.

The evidence is clear. Fathers are extremely important figures in the lives of their children and their influence cannot be underestimated.

So lets encourage our dad’s today, to be the men that lead country to be its best everyday, and that leads by example how to live a life not solely for themselves but for the betterment of others. Let us also encourage those that gave up their right to be a father or those that want to become fathers, to start becoming a part of the kids lives that they brought into this world, or for those not yet with kids to incorporate a part of their lives with children. Fathers are a big part of a kids life, just like mothers, to help bring them up to be responsible adults.